Beenaed moeahan



B. MORAHAN. Glazing Pottery.

No. 228,773. Patented June 15, 1880.

N. PEIERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. 0. C.

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD MORAHAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

GLAZING POTTERY.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 228,773, dated June 15, 1880,

Application filed December 3, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD MoRAHAN, of New York city, in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements relating to Glazing; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description thereof.

My invention is intended more especially for glazing my ceramic ware wash-tubs, for which I have several patents, one dated September 7, 1878, No. 207,978; but it may be used in glazing the interior of large articles of earthen or ceramic ware of whatever name.

I will in this paper designate the material as earthen. The article is prepared by throwing on a wheel, molding, or otherwise in any ordinary or suitable manner. It is dried as usual.

The glaze may be of any ordinary character in the form of a creamy fluid.

Much depends on the manner in which the glaze is applied. If brushed it is streaky. If the biscuit is dipped in the fluid glaze it is difficult to avoid some parts absorbing more than others, and it isimpossible with dipping to avoid glazing the exterior as well as the interior. I wish to leave the outside of my tubs unglazed, having found that such are less liable to crock in the kiln.

The biscuitis highly absorbent. Any parts which are allowed to remain longer exposed to the fluid glaze absorb a greater quantity, and the effect is different.

I have conceived of applying the glaze in an upward shower or series of jets thrown upward and outward in the interior of an inverted tub. It may be thus distributed with practical uniformity over the whole interior. I have devised simple and effective means for thus applying it. p

A movement of a hand-lever or treadle suffices to jet the material with sufficient force. The same device serves to keep the fluid glaze liberally agitated.

The following is a description of what I consider the best means of carrying out the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the apparatus, with one of my tubs in place thereon, ready to be glazed. Fig. 2 is a plan View of the apparatus alone.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts in both thefigures.

A is a fixed frame-work of wood or other suitable material, presenting a slightly-hollowed platform or table, A, with a tight rim, A surrounding it. A hole, a, near the center allows any fluid thrown on the table to flow downward into a cylindrical flexible bag, B, suspended below. The bag may be of canvas, made water-proof by a coating of rubber on the inner face. It has a rigid bottom, B, which is mounted on a cross-piece, B traversing in vertical guides, as shown.

C is a lever turning on a fixed center, 0, and adapted to be operated by the attendant .to lift the bottom board, B, and thus to force out its contents suddenly.

A liberal circular opening in the table A is in free communication with the interior of the bag B. Its sides are adapted to receive and engagewith a turning cross-bar, 0, having a stem, 0, receiving a thumb-nut, G at the top. These parts serve to confine and release a spheroidal metal cap or rose, D, having perforations (1, adapted to distribute the fluid glaze with practical uniformity over the interior. of the vessel, which shall be inverted over it when the bag B is compressed.

E is a removable frame adapted to fit just within the rim A The upper edge of the frame E is cushioned, as shown, and adapted to form a soft resting-place for the upper edge of my wash-tub when it rests thereon.

In the operation of my apparatus a liberal quantity of glaze in a fluid state is introduced and fllls the bag B; then, one of my tubsbeing inverted and resting on the cushioned edge of the frame E, a quick and forcible action by the operator on the treadle compresses the bag B and throws out a forcible jet of fluid glaze through each of the perforations d. These perforations should be evenly distributed. The effect is to splash or spray the fluid glaze evenly on the whole interior of the tub, and a little practice teaches the operator how much of a dash to give in order to put on about the right quantity.

The streams being finely distributed and striking with a splashing action, which tends interior surface.

The facility for removing and replacing the rose D allows it to be washed at short intervals and its perforations to be keptopen. Any ejected fluid which falls on the table A may descend through the aperture to or valve 0/ into the bag again. The action of the bag keeps theinclosed material constantly agitated.

Any ordinary or suitable means maybe provided for draining and washing the interior of the bag B when the operation is concluded. I prefer to attach the bag to the round bottom at the base and to a corresponding round piece of wood or other material at the top by simply causing it to apply in a groove thereon and winding it tightly with a cord or wire. When thus attached the entire bag may be readily disconnected, if required. A further quantity may be added after each operation, or after each two or three operations, by simply pouring it on the table.

The upper surface of the table A, as also theinner faces of the removable frame E, may be faced with sheet-zinc.

One effect of the inclined position of the padded upper edge of the frame E is to hold my tub or analogous irregular vessel in a position which shall expose it very evenly to the jets of liquid glaze. This will be readily understood on inspection.

Another effect to which I attach great practical importance is the avoidance of the hangingof any drops of glaze so as to form bunches in the interior of the tub. If my tub or any vessel is so held as to present a considerable surface which is dead-level the liquid glaze thrown up against it is liable to thus hang and produce a bad effect unless the drops are laboriously removed by hand after they have become partly hardened, and this latter operation involves a roughness. By holding my tub on the inclined surface of Bali the plane surfaces are held inclined and the glaze flows downward, spreads itself, and dries in a uniform coating.

These holes are made smaller on the interior, flaring outward, in order to produce a spreading or atomizing effect as the glaze departs from the rose.

Modifications may be made in many of the details.

The removable frame should be changed for each different size or shape of article to be glazed.

The inclination of the upper surface should be varied for different articles. The intent is to so hold each article as that the jets through the perforations (I shall wet the whole interior of the pottery article uniformly and allow no drops to hang.

The rose may be changed for different articles. For my rectangular tubs a rectangular rose may be preferred; but my experiments indicate that the flattened spheroid represented is very successful.

For some articles the removable frame E may be dispensed with, and the article may be held by hand over the rose. In such case, or in any case, a slight movement of the article may be expedient during the period while the jet is being received. When the article is held on the frame E this movement may be effected by the hand, care being taken to make the frame E a little smaller than the space in which it is confined to allow of such movement.

In some articles two strokes of the lever 0 and consequently two jets of the fluid glaze, may be expedient, the two being separated by a few seconds of interval, during which the first dash of glaze may be absorbed.

The invention aids to ovcrcome'the difficulties in evenly applying glaze on the interior of pottery-ware. It allows this to be done without glazing the exterior. It further avoids the necessity for large vats and for large quantities of glaze to be mixed at once, and the liability of large quantities of glaze being destroyed in the vat by foreign matter falling into it. If, through the accession of chips from the article, which in this unburned state is soft, or from other cause, the glaze becomes deteriorated and must be thrown away, I have only to waste the small quantity required to fill the bag B.

The distributing parts have elongated slits instead of being a perfect rose with round perforations; or it may be made in some cases by thin curved strips laid close together, with. the apertures extending from side to side, or be entirely of a bellied wire meshed.

I claim as my invention-- 1. The within-described method of glazing the interior of hollow pottery-ware by distributing the glaze from a perforated rose on its interior, as herein specified.

2. The glazing apparatus described, composed of a semi-spheroidal rose, D d, in combination with a compressible bag or pump, B, and means for operating it, as herein specified.

3. The rose D, confining and liberating means 0 c 0 table A A, and forcing means B B B all combined and arranged for joint operation, as herein specified.

4.. The concave-topped table A and draining-passage a, in combination with a compressible bag, B, rose D, and operating means B as herein specified.

5. In a glazing-machine, the frame E, having a padded edge, and adapted to hold the article to be glazed, as herein specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of July, 1879, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BERNARD MORAHAN.

Witnesses:

WM. 0. DEY, CHARLES C. STE'rsoN.

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